Robert Unikel Discusses Whether Computerized Business Methods are Patentable with IDG News Service
As seen in IDG News Service’s “Supreme Court Could Limit Software Patents in Alice Case.” This story also ran in PC Advisor, PC World, ComputerWorld and other technology media outlets.
IDG News Service reports on the recent oral arguments heard before the Supreme Court in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, a case that questions the patentability of software. One key issue the justices will be considering is how to determine if a software program that computerizes a business method is a patentable invention or too obvious of an idea to be patented.
According to Kaye Scholer Intellectual Property Partner Robert Unikel, “The high court may look for a test that permits patenting of a computerized business method only when it describes a detailed and substantive process related to running on a computer.”
Unikel added, "Of course, the difficulty is in predicting whether the justices will be able to agree on the proper formulation of such a rule or test — certainly the Federal Circuit wasn't able to — and, if so, what the precise requirements of that rule or test will be.” He concluded, "As the saying goes, the devil is in the details."